Tuesday, 29 March 2016

After a four-day break,
the Brandon Wheat Kings resume their first round playoff series with the Oil
Kings Wednesday night in Edmonton (7:40 p.m. CDT, 880 CKLQ).

The Wheat Kings
are down two games to none in the series but remain a confident group despite
playing the next three games in Edmonton.

“One of the
biggest things we took out of those two games was what Kelly (McCrimmon) said
to us.He said these two losses can’t
bring our team apart, they have to bring us closer together,” said Brandon captain
Macoy Erkamps after Tuesday’s practice in Edmonton, “I think that’s what we’ve
done the past couple of days after those two losses.We’re ready to go, and we’re ready to get
this first one out of the way.”

After averaging a league-high 4.38 goals per
game during the regular season, Brandon has been held to just three goals in
losing first two games of the series including just once in the last five
periods...that despite outshooting Edmonton 85-54.

﻿

“I think everybody has just got a little bit
more to give, and we’re not far off.Getting shots through, battling a little harder, getting some shots
blocked,” said Brandon forward Reid Duke, “There’s just a few little things
that if we pick up on, we’ll be fine.”

﻿

Reid Duke

Increasing their scoring chances might come
down to better puck management for the Wheat Kings, especially when it comes to
puck placement (ie: dumps or chips entering the offensive zone) during their offensive
attack.

﻿

﻿﻿Another concern for the Wheat Kings’
offensively in the opening two games, a usually effective power-play that is
0-for-7 including several opportunities at key times in those two games.

“Getting the puck to the net and getting
bodies to the net is going to be huge for us on our power-play,” said Erkamps, “We
haven’t brought enough pucks to the paint and got second chances on this
goaltender.I think that’s one of the
keys we’re going to be focused on coming into this game.”

Brandon’s power-play clicked at a 27.4%
success rate in the second half of the season to finish fourth in the WHL at 23.4%.

Chaff...Brandon had the WHL’s second-best road record
during the regular season at 23-10-3-0 including a 5-0-2-0 mark in their last
seven road games...the Wheat Kings’ roster includes four products of Edmonton
and immediate surrounding area in Jordan Papirny, John Quenneville, Mitch
Wheaton and Mark Matsuba...Brandon F Garrett Armour was originally chosen by
the Oil Kings in the 7th round of the 2012 Bantam Draft but never
played a game with Edmonton...D Ian Mitchell, Brandon’s second round pick in
the 2014 Bantam Draft, announced via Twitter this week his commitment to Denver
University...Sunday (March 27th) marked the 35th
anniversary of Dave Chartier’s five-goal, eight-point performance for the Wheat
Kings in a playoff game vs. Regina.Both
are still WHL records (tied)...Caiden Daley, Rylan Bettens and the Manitoba
champion Winnipeg Wild open the Telus Cup Western Regionals against the Saskatchewan
champion Notre Dame Hounds on Thursday in Saskatoon.

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About Me

I have been the voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings and Sports Director at CKLQ Radio in Brandon since 1993.
The purpose of my blog is to provide you with up-to-date Wheat Kings' news and items.
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